Some box sets exist to tidy up a back catalogue. Others exist to remind you, rather loudly, proudly, and with absolute conviction that a band was far better, far bigger, and far more important than history sometimes gives them credit for.

’ll level with you straight away: normally I spend days living inside an album before I even think about writing a review. I soak it in, spin it repeatedly, let it breathe, let it bruise, let it get under my skin.

After a huge selling arena tour with their 'other' band Creed, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Philips have reunited with Myles Kennedy to carry on the always upwards trajectory of Alter Bridge, reconvening for this, their eighth full length opus.

Back in January 2024 I reviewed the debut Cassidy Paris album for this very website. It was, as I remember, a competent but unremarkable body of work, but one that somehow hinted that much more and better was to come and this is indeed the case as Bittersweet is a real improvement on its predecessor. 

Quarter of a century. Twenty-five years. An entire generation has passed since Static-X unleashed their debut upon an unsuspecting world, and here we are in 2025, still reeling from the seismic impact of Wisconsin Death Trip.

I don’t think anyone was really surprised that Mike Portnoy returned to the drum stool in Dream Theater; it was always a case of when. While the change was unexpected at the time it occurred, it was in fact perfectly timed to celebrate the band’s 40th Anniversary with a tour of Europe and North America.

Las Vegas sisters Jyl and Jules Wylde have been making quite the impression on TikTok, information which I reliably informed from the ladies of my household whose ears immediately pricked up at their mere mention so not only have I been introduced to a new group but also a subgenre "baddiecore” 

For those who might be late to the party, Annisokay have spent the better part of their career refusing to be pigeonholed.

Hair metal heroes Midnite City are back with album number five and 11 arena-filled anthems that will take you back to MTVs heyday. 

We know Canada has a history of incredible rock trio's and like a persistant itch Danko Jones has been eating away at the music business to burst their way into that conversation and with latest album Leo Rising they have shown that they just cannot be ignored.

Still glowing from their triumphant appearances with Saxon and U.D.O., Northern rockers Untamed Silence are starting to make waves and with this new album you can see exactly why.

I didn’t think this would be my bag, despite being curiously a fan of the single releases. I’m a rocker. I like my music loud, messy, and preferably played by someone with questionable life choices and a Les Paul.

New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front return with their thirteenth studio album, Echoes In Eternity, and if you're expecting these veterans to mellow with age or compromise their sound, you clearly haven't been paying attention for the past forty-five years.

When life goes full on bat shit crazy you need to find something to match that energy the almost bring everything to an evil kil, fortunately the Swedish maddened maestros Avatar are bringing their circus back into town armed with their latest album – Don’t Go Into The Forest, and of course they are dropping it on Halloween 

There are some bands that manages to balance their overall breathtaking experience and translate to both the studio and in a live setting, but Conjurer manage this effortlessly and now they return with a new album (Just in time for me seeing them at this year’s Damnation) with Unself - A more personal voyage of discovery unfurling for vocalist/guitarist Dani Nightingale.

Steve Morse Band’s Triangulation is a genre-defying, soul-stirring instrumental odyssey.  Nine tracks of pure musical telepathy, where slap bass grooves, rhythmic wizardry, and fretboard fireworks converge in a masterclass of style-less mastery.